My Heart Still Beats
by Kagamizu
Summary: Revenge is sweet, the note told Misty. She's recovering from years of trauma when assassinations continue to increase at an alarming rate. Paul knows who's responsible: the Shadow Trio. They have Ash. It's up to Misty to fight for the boy who loved her, while she struggles with her inner demons. Sequel to Assassin Guardians!


I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT MY ACCOUNT I SWEAR. I did rename myself to Kagamizu though. Sorry for all the name changes, but this one is sticking I promise!

Here's the sequel to Assassin Guardians: My Heart Still Beats! I'd really recommend reading AG first, since this is a heavily continuation-based sequel.

Summary: _Revenge is sweet, the note told Misty. She's recovering from years of trauma when assassinations continue to increase at an alarming rate. Paul knows who's responsible: the Shadow Trio. They have Ash. It's up to Misty to fight for the boy who loved her, while she struggles with her inner demons._ This story will be dark. Struggles with flashbacks, PTSD, abuse, etc. Warning!

The title of this story is the same as the featuring song, which I thought fit how I portrayed Ash and Misty's relationship. What's a funny coincidence is that the album is called Viktoria - similar to how I spelled Leaf's alias! Thought I'd share.

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

 **Though Broken**

* * *

 _With your little mishap the ball was in my court_

 _To prove I could be the stronger one of us_

 _By taking over the role you so elegantly played_

 _Those years when I needed a rock._

* * *

The orange-haired girl stared at her hands, covered in crimson lacerations. Blood dripped to the ground and down the cracked mirror before her, where a red and black hat was pinned by a dagger. The note that had been included was torn on the ground. She had panicked and wildly reached for the hat, cutting her hands in the process.

The note read: _Revenge is sweet. Hunt us down, I dare you. -S_

S. Her mind was fractured, and she gripped her head with her hands, ignoring the blood as she desperately tried to hold on to reality. She had to stay lucid. He was counting on her.

She looked around the room, hoping for something to snap her out of the impending episode. A stuffed animal sat on her pillow, looking back at her - a dolphin. It was enough to bring her back. Her only visitor in the rehabilitation center, Ash Ketchum, had come bearing gifts without fail every other day. He was the only one brave enough to approach her.

After all, she had been Cerulean. The infamous top Assassin who had been single-handedly responsible for innumerous murders across the nation. She'd been the Commander's prodigy, albeit committing all the assassinations under another Assassin's name. Recruited as a child, she had been twisted and broken, mended to become a perfect killing machine. Only the efforts of Veil and a few other rogue Assassins had led to the dissolution of the Assassin organization, and the eventual capture of the Commander.

 _My name is Misty Waterflower. I am seventeen. Ash is my savior. They've taken Ash._

Basic facts rang through her head in a mantra, a trick Ash had taught her. It kept her from falling back into an episode.

 _I have to save him._

Misty took a deep breath and let her hands fall from her head. Immediately, she sprang to action. First she tackled her hands, wrapping bandages around each one carefully, and bringing along extra. Then she grabbed a backpack and filled it with her meager belongings: the stuffed dolphin, a romance novel titled the _Luvdisc Lovers_ , a green ribbon, a bottle of water, a few changes of clothes. There were flowers, but she reluctantly realized there was no plausible way to bring them. She raided the room for essentials - the blanket, a flashlight, first-aid kit. Pulling on a soft, pale pink hoodie, she glanced around for anything else she could possibly carry with her. Her eyes landed on the tray lying on the table beside her, meticulously counted out medicine in paper cups, enough for at least a week's worth. A split second decision had her snatching every pill and throwing them in a paper bag. She knew that if she wanted to be able to save him, she had to be at her best.

She had no money or food. Her weapons were only the knife Ash had handed her, and the dagger that was a warning sign. There was almost a zero chance she could find Ash and save him on her own, but what else could she do? Heaving a sigh, she tied her hair up in a high ponytail and brushed the dirt reverently off of the cap before placing that on her head.

Misty opened the door to her room, glancing around in the hallway. It was three in the morning, so no one appeared to be out and about. She turned back to the room one last time. Suddenly, the moonlight outside glimmered on something near the door: a fiberglass fishing rod. Acting on an impulse, she took it with her.

She snuck through the hallways with a silent tread. Her years of training had honed her skills to a fine razor edge, and it was as easy as breathing to avoid security cameras and emerge out of the rehabilitation center without getting caught. Once she was outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air before breaking into a run to the nearest town. She needed to find a phone.

* * *

A ringing cut through her dream, and Dawn grumbled as she rolled over. She felt around for a moment, seeking a comforting arm, but found only an empty warm space. Instantly alert, Dawn jolted upright. The ringing stopped, and a low voice murmured instead.

Dawn slid out of bed and walked carefully to the doorway, trying to copy the Assassins' noiseless way of moving. Paul had been training her, but years of living as a normal civilian had created habits that were difficult to break. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was only four in the morning. Who could be calling?

Gary poked his head out of his room, seeing Dawn spying on Paul, who was talking quietly into the phone. The brown-haired boy mouthed a question to her, but she shrugged in response. She had no idea. A look of concern crossed Gary's face but he disappeared into his room. Dawn looked back to Paul. He'd disappeared, and she frowned. Where'd he go?

A hand clamped over her mouth and dragged her back into her room. She kicked at her assailant without any real fight, recognizing who had muffled her.

"I'm sorry!" Dawn exclaimed as soon as she turned to see Paul glaring back at her. "I wanted to know who you were talking to!"

His obsidian eyes were cool and disbelieving as his tone of voice. "It's a phone call, not a video chat."

"I know that, but I thought seeing how you reacted would be helpful." She pouted in response, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Ash is missing."

Horror crashed through her. Dawn turned back to Paul, wide-eyed. "What happened?"

"They've gotten to him." With Paul, there was only one they. "That was Cerulean on the phone. They left her a note, and she left rehabilitation to go find him."

Paul picked up a backpack that was always near the door, and grabbed a few other essentials from around their room. "I'm going to meet her downtown."

"Wait. I'm going with you," Dawn insisted, taking up her own bag.

"No. You're going to tell the others, and I'm bringing her back here. Listen to me," Paul's stern expression brooked no argument, "This is our chance to save Ash and stop the Trio. You will listen, or you'll ruin it for everyone."

Dawn glared at him, but he was unyielding. Finally she grumbled, "Fine."

"Good." He took a step towards her and kissed her lightly on the cheek before he ran out the door.

She sighed, wondering if her meager amount of training would be enough to stop her from getting strangled by Leaf and Gary.

* * *

Misty was hiding in the shadows of the closed post office, her green eyes sharp and alert. A hint of movement caught her eye, and she tensed. Her hand rested lightly on her knife.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you." Paul's voice was calm, but she could tell there was an underlying uneasiness.

"Shadow is a good name for you," Misty said, without turning around.

"I think you'll want to see this," Paul told her, ignoring her words. "I found it on my way here." She looked over at him and her eyes widened.

Cradled in Paul's jacket was Pikachu. And he wasn't breathing.

* * *

 _I can still see you_

 _Front row point of view._

 _It hurts, but I'm not about to give you up._

 _Though broken, my heart still beats, it will not stop, stop._

~"My Heart Still Beats", Maria Mena

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Let me know what you think!


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